NASA's historic Artemis 2 moon mission is set to launch later today (April 1) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, taking a crew of four astronauts on a mission to the far side of the moon for the first time since Apollo 17 left in 1972
Skywatchers in Florida and Southern Georgia may just get to witness the historic event for themselves, as the 322-foot-tall Space Launch System defies Earth's gravity to carry NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and the Canadian Space Agency's Jeremy Hansen to orbit.
The two-hour launch window for Artemis 2 opens at 6:24 p.m. EDT (2224 GMT) on April 1, with an 80% probability of favorable weather conditions, as of March 31. NASA has announced backup launch opportunities running from April 2-6 and on April 30.
Weather permitting, the launch may even be glimpsed from as far afield as the city of Savannah in southern Georgia, roughly 124 miles (200 kilometers) away, according to a new NASA graphic posted to the social media site X.
The SLS rocket should become visible in the east for skywatchers in the nearby city of Orlando — about 50 miles (80 km) from the Kennedy launch pad — 10-20 seconds after liftoff. Those in Tampa on the west coast of the peninsula and Jacksonville to the north won't see the rocket until 30-40 seconds after ignition.
Artemis 2 will be lost from view just 70 seconds after launch, having ascended to an altitude of over 40,000 feet (12, 190 meters) on its journey to low-Earth orbit — the first step in a 10-day mission that will take the Orion capsule on a mission to the far side of the moon.
Be sure to read our day-by-day breakdown of what to expect from each phase of the historic mission and to stay up to date with the latest news with our Artemis 2 live blog. You can also watch the launch live here on Space.com.
Editor's Note: If you capture an image of the Artemis 2 launch and want to share it with Space.com's readers, then please send your photo(s)/footage, comments, name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
